BASED in Shenzhen's Hongfa Temple, Buddhist monk Xinde said his mission is to carry forward the spirit of traditional Chinese Buddhism through painting the images of Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy) and Buddha.

"Since it was introduced into the country more than 2,000 years ago, Buddhism has produced tremendous influences on every aspect of Chinese society and has eventually become a part of Chinese culture," said Xinde.

"However, up to the present, not a single book has ever been published in the country to systematically introduce the images of China's traditional Guanyins and Buddhas," he said.

That motivated Xinde, since he moved to Shenzhen in 1994, to collect all the historical materials he can find from home and abroad with the images of Guanyin and Buddha and reproduce them in his own paintings. Xinde had his second art exhibition in Shenzhen in March.Originally named Yao Yuangui, Xinde was born in 1964 in Shandong Province. Because of family poverty, he quit his job as a furniture painter in his hometown and became a monk at Qianfo Mountain in Jinan in 1984.

"To become a monk tied my heart in a knot, for I knew nothing about the religion at the beginning," Xinde recalled. "I wondered what the real meaning of my life was and what I could do with my life in this world."

To untie his heart knot, he entered the Chinese Buddhist Academy in Beijing in 1986. Through a systemic study of Buddhist classics, Xinde came to accept Buddhism as his personal belief.

In 1987, he began to follow the renowned painter Xian Heting to learn fine brushwork painting of traditional female figures and copied many Chinese masterpieces.

Not until 1989 did he find a chance to get to know Pan Jiezi, chairman of China's Society of Fine Brushwork Painting.

After viewing his works, Pan said to Xinde: "Buddhist art covers many categories. Since you've been a Buddhist monk, you're taking a roundabout course in doing female figure paintings."

These words awoke Xinde and then he decided to specialize in portrait painting of Guanyin and Buddha.

After he graduated in 1990 from the Chinese Buddhist Academy, he went to Zhanshan Temple in Qingdao to do administration work, which kept him so busy that he felt he didn't make much progress in painting until he settled down in the Hongfa Temple in 1994.

Besides meditation, reading classics and other lessons, Xinde spent eight to 10 hours daily painting in the temple during the past decade.

Painting Guanyin and Buddha involves fine brushwork with precise delineation and enriched colors, calling for not only skilled techniques, but also experience, knowledge and personal conviction.

"Other forms of painting pursue beauty, unusual themes or techniques or creativity as their ultimate goals, but portrait paintings of Guanyin and Buddha can only have flatness, moderation, and tranquility as the highest standards," Xinde said.

This special form of art has become almost forgotten because even if a painter is interested, it would be difficult to reveal the rich contents and profound meanings associated with the images of Guanyin and Buddha if the artist lacks a basic understanding of Buddhist classics, including the sutra and its ritual details, Xinde said.

"The Guanyins and Buddhas in my paintings, for example, never look excited," he said. "And their eyes, which are never fully open, always look downward to show their merciful care."

By painting these solemn and merciful images, Xinde believes he has not only returned the four "debts of gratitude" he has received from his parents, teachers, the country and the Buddha, but also provided a close and direct way to communicate with others.

"It's worrying that many people today are ignorant of the basic facts of Buddhism as a part of traditional Chinese culture," Xinde said. "With the country getting increasingly open to the outside world, now it is a high time for us to tell them what Buddhism really is."

In 1997, he held one-man show at the Shenzhen Museum and published his first book on China's traditional Guanyins.

In March, with 200 recent works, he staged another exhibition, which was reportedly the largest of its kind in the country, in the same museum. He also ublished his second book on China's traditional Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Xinde is now preparing to move his exhibit to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

 
Editor: Wings